Geography pillar

North Carolina regions map — Mountains, Piedmont & Coastal Plain

North Carolina divides naturally into three geographic regions — the Mountains in the west, the Piedmont in the center, and the Coastal Plain in the east. Every one of the state's 100 counties belongs to exactly one of them. The interactive map below color-codes all 100, and the sections that follow give deep regional context plus full county lists.

Last reviewed: June 2026 · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, NC OneMap

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Hover any county to see its name and region; click to open its detail page. Color codes: Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain.

Mountains

Counties: 23
Population: 1,149,326
Share of state: 11.0%
Land area: 9,636 mi²

Piedmont

Counties: 37
Population: 6,601,397
Share of state: 63.2%
Land area: 17,521 mi²

Coastal Plain

Counties: 40
Population: 2,690,166
Share of state: 25.8%
Land area: 21,481 mi²

Mountains region

The Mountain region sits in the western portion of the state and is part of the southern Appalachian range.

counties

The Mountain region (also called Western North Carolina, or WNC) covers the westernmost portion of the state. It is dominated by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Black Mountains — which include Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern United States at 6,684 feet. Counties here are characterized by lower population density, higher elevation, cooler average temperatures, and an economy weighted toward tourism, outdoor recreation, hospitality, and skilled trades.

Geography

Rugged Appalachian terrain with peaks above 6,000 feet, narrow river valleys (the French Broad, the Pigeon, the Nantahala, the Tuckasegee), and extensive national forest land (Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests).

Economy

Tourism and hospitality (Asheville is the regional capital), outdoor recreation, craft manufacturing, higher education (Western Carolina, Appalachian State, UNC Asheville), and forestry. Seasonal pulses tied to fall leaf-peeping and summer cooling-off travel from lowland heat.

Notable counties

Buncombe County (Asheville) is by far the most populous Mountain county. Graham County is the least populous county in the entire state's Mountain region.

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All 23 Mountains counties (ranked by population)

#	County	County seat	Population	Area (mi²)
1	Buncombe	Asheville	269,452	656
2	Henderson	Hendersonville	116,281	373
3	Burke	Morganton	87,570	506
4	Caldwell	Lenoir	80,652	472
5	Wilkes	Wilkesboro	65,969	754
6	Rutherford	Rutherfordton	64,444	564
7	Haywood	Waynesville	62,317	553
8	Watauga	Boone	54,086	313
9	McDowell	Marion	44,578	442
10	Jackson	Sylva	43,109	491
11	Macon	Franklin	37,014	515
12	Transylvania	Brevard	33,090	379
13	Cherokee	Murphy	28,612	455
14	Ashe	Jefferson	26,577	426
15	Madison	Marshall	21,193	449
16	Polk	Columbus	19,328	238
17	Yancey	Burnsville	18,470	312
18	Avery	Newland	17,557	247
19	Mitchell	Bakersville	14,903	221
20	Swain	Bryson City	14,117	528
21	Clay	Hayesville	11,089	215
22	Alleghany	Sparta	10,888	235
23	Graham	Robbinsville	8,030	292

Piedmont region

The Piedmont is the rolling-hills region between the mountains and the coastal plain.

counties

The Piedmont is the broad, rolling-hills middle region of North Carolina, stretching from the Blue Ridge escarpment on its western edge to the fall line on its east. It is by far the most populous of the three regions — containing every NC city above 200,000 residents (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville) — and the majority of the state's GDP.

Geography

Rolling terrain between roughly 300 and 1,500 feet of elevation, with red clay soils, hardwood and pine forest, and major rivers (the Catawba, the Yadkin/Pee Dee, the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the Tar) that drop sharply at the fall line on the region's eastern edge.

Economy

Finance and banking (Charlotte is the second-largest U.S. banking center after New York), technology and biotech (the Research Triangle), advanced manufacturing, higher education (Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, Wake Forest, NC A&T), and healthcare. Population and job growth in the Piedmont have led the state for decades.

Notable counties

Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) and Wake County (Raleigh) are the two largest counties in the state by population. Both exceed 1 million residents.

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All 37 Piedmont counties (ranked by population)

#	County	County seat	Population	Area (mi²)
1	Wake	Raleigh	1,129,410	835
2	Mecklenburg	Charlotte	1,115,482	526
3	Guilford	Greensboro	541,299	645
4	Forsyth	Winston-Salem	382,590	410
5	Durham	Durham	324,833	286
6	Union	Monroe	238,267	632
7	Gaston	Gastonia	227,943	356
8	Cabarrus	Concord	225,804	362
9	Iredell	Statesville	186,693	574
10	Alamance	Graham	171,415	423
11	Davidson	Lexington	168,930	553
12	Catawba	Newton	160,610	401
13	Orange	Hillsborough	148,696	398
14	Rowan	Salisbury	146,875	511
15	Randolph	Asheboro	144,171	787
16	Harnett	Lillington	133,568	595
17	Moore	Carthage	99,727	698
18	Cleveland	Shelby	99,519	464
19	Rockingham	Wentworth	91,096	566
20	Lincoln	Lincolnton	86,111	298
21	Chatham	Pittsboro	76,285	682
22	Surry	Dobson	71,219	537
23	Franklin	Louisburg	68,573	492
24	Lee	Sanford	63,285	257
25	Stanly	Albemarle	62,806	395
26	Granville	Oxford	60,992	531
27	Stokes	Danbury	45,591	452
28	Richmond	Rockingham	42,946	474
29	Davie	Mocksville	42,712	264
30	Vance	Henderson	42,578	254
31	Person	Roxboro	39,097	392
32	Yadkin	Yadkinville	37,214	336
33	Alexander	Taylorsville	36,063	259
34	Montgomery	Troy	25,564	491
35	Caswell	Yanceyville	22,736	425
36	Anson	Wadesboro	22,055	531
37	Warren	Warrenton	18,642	429

Coastal Plain region

The Coastal Plain stretches from the eastern edge of the Piedmont to the Atlantic Ocean.

counties

The Coastal Plain is the largest of the three regions by land area, covering roughly 45% of the state. It runs from the fall line on its western edge eastward to the Atlantic Ocean, including the Outer Banks barrier islands. The terrain is overwhelmingly flat, sandy, and low-elevation, with extensive wetlands (pocosins), slow-moving black-water rivers, and dense pine forest. Some sources subdivide it into the Inner Coastal Plain (the more inland, agricultural portion) and the Outer or Tidewater Coastal Plain (the truly coastal portion, vulnerable to hurricanes and tidal flooding).

Geography

Low, flat topography — generally under 300 feet of elevation — with sandy soils, pine savannas, blackwater rivers (the Roanoke, the Tar-Pamlico, the Neuse), and an extensive Atlantic shoreline including the Outer Banks and the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

Economy

Agriculture (NC is the #2 hog producer and a top sweet-potato, tobacco, and poultry producer nationally), commercial fishing, coastal tourism, military installations (Fort Liberty, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson AFB, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point), forest products, and the Port of Wilmington.

Notable counties

Cumberland County (Fayetteville/Fort Liberty) is the most populous Coastal Plain county. Tyrrell County, also in the Coastal Plain, is the least populous county in the entire state.

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All 40 Coastal Plain counties (ranked by population)

#	County	County seat	Population	Area (mi²)
1	Cumberland	Fayetteville	334,728	653
2	New Hanover	Wilmington	225,702	192
3	Johnston	Smithfield	215,999	791
4	Onslow	Jacksonville	204,576	763
5	Pitt	Greenville	170,243	652
6	Brunswick	Bolivia	136,693	847
7	Wayne	Goldsboro	117,333	553
8	Robeson	Lumberton	116,530	949
9	Craven	New Bern	100,720	708
10	Nash	Nashville	94,970	540
11	Wilson	Wilson	78,580	371
12	Carteret	Beaufort	67,686	506
13	Pender	Burgaw	60,203	871
14	Sampson	Clinton	59,036	945
15	Lenoir	Kinston	55,122	400
16	Hoke	Raeford	52,082	391
17	Columbus	Whiteville	50,623	937
18	Duplin	Kenansville	49,043	818
19	Edgecombe	Tarboro	48,903	504
20	Halifax	Halifax	48,622	724
21	Beaufort	Washington	44,652	827
22	Pasquotank	Elizabeth City	40,568	227
23	Dare	Manteo	36,915	384
24	Scotland	Laurinburg	34,782	319
25	Bladen	Elizabethtown	29,606	874
26	Currituck	Currituck	28,100	262
27	Martin	Williamston	22,158	461
28	Hertford	Winton	21,552	353
29	Greene	Snow Hill	20,456	266
30	Bertie	Windsor	17,934	699
31	Northampton	Jackson	17,471	536
32	Chowan	Edenton	13,943	173
33	Perquimans	Hertford	13,005	247
34	Pamlico	Bayboro	12,276	336
35	Washington	Plymouth	11,003	348
36	Camden	Camden	10,867	240
37	Gates	Gatesville	10,478	341
38	Jones	Trenton	9,172	471
39	Hyde	Swan Quarter	4,589	613
40	Tyrrell	Columbia	3,245	389

Frequently asked questions

How many regions does North Carolina have?

North Carolina has three official geographic regions: the Mountains (west), the Piedmont (center), and the Coastal Plain (east). All 100 counties belong to one of these three.

How many counties are in each NC region?

The Mountains region has 23 counties, the Piedmont has 37, and the Coastal Plain has 40. Together they account for all 100 NC counties.

Which NC region has the most people?

The Piedmont, by a wide margin. It contains every NC city above 200,000 residents (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem) and the majority of the state's population and GDP.

What is the difference between the Inner and Outer Coastal Plain?

Some classifications subdivide the Coastal Plain into the Inner Coastal Plain (the western, more agricultural portion that transitions from the Piedmont) and the Outer or Tidewater Coastal Plain (the truly coastal portion including the Outer Banks). Most state agencies and this site treat them together as one region.

Are the Sandhills a separate region?

The Sandhills are a distinctive sub-region within the southern Coastal Plain (centered around Moore, Hoke, Richmond, and Scotland counties), characterized by sandy soils and longleaf pine. They are not typically counted as a fourth official region — they are part of the Coastal Plain.

Where is the boundary between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain?

The fall line — the geological boundary where rivers drop sharply from the harder Piedmont bedrock to the softer Coastal Plain sediment. Cities like Raleigh, Smithfield, Rocky Mount, and Fayetteville sit on or near the fall line, marking the rough Piedmont/Coastal Plain divide.

Regional groupings follow the standard North Carolina geographic divisions used by the NC Department of Public Instruction, the NC State Climate Office, and NC State University Extension. County counts: 23 Mountains, 37 Piedmont, 40 Coastal Plain.